


into the garden

by soft_changbin



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Insomnia, M/M, Shy Han Jisung | Han, chan is kind of a bad boy????, everybody loves chan, everything is just soft, jisung can't sleep, jisungs parents are cool, lapslock, so are chans, they are in an art club, they both love DAY6, this is my first AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-06 15:38:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18391334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_changbin/pseuds/soft_changbin
Summary: jisung is a boy who likes to draw flowers, read, and tend to his garden. chan just moved in down the street, and likes to illustrate comic books. neither of them can sleep, but maybe that happens to work out for them.





	1. rain lillies

insomnia. “its fake,” is what he was wishing was true as he sat awake in bed at 2 AM staring at the dark expanse of the seemingly endless ceiling. he had said goodnight to his parents at 11:30 PM, promising them that he would get to sleep quickly tonight, but they knew and he knew that he was lying. he hadn’t slept before 3AM since august of last year. it was now a bleak and rainy march. he had to make a decision now; stay tucked under his blankets staring blankly at the ceiling for the next 4 hours until he was forced to face another day in the life in daebury, or he could get up out of the bed and enjoy the crisp air of a march night until the sun rises. instead of sitting there like a heavy rock in still waters, he gets up and walks over to the big window adjacent to his tall, white bookshelf. he quietly opens the heavy curtains, the ones his mother bought him in the hopes of making his room feel calmer and hopefully inspiring him to sleep. the curtains didn’t serve the original purpose, but they were nice for insulating his room in the cold winters, so he appreciated the gesture. as he opened the curtains, he had to snap the rusty hinges of the window screen open as quietly as possible, but this wasn’t his first rodeo, so he snatched up the ratty t-shirt off the floor next to the window. this way he can kill two birds with one stone; his hands won’t smell like blood and ancient copper, and the noise of the hinge abruptly snapping open becomes muffled. with the window screen now discarded, he grabbed the book at the top of the pile on his shelf and hops onto the window ledge. tonight, he had gotten lucky. it was raining.  
as he prepares to throw his legs out the window, he realizes he forgot something. he hops back down, and moves swiftly across his room in a weak effort to not awaken his 10 pound, sleeping cat, wisteria. despite being the name of a beautiful flower, the vet could never spell it right or say it right for that matter, so her nickname was wis, thanks to dr. lin. as he moved past his best friend (aka cat), he softly pulls his junk drawer open and pulls out the reading light. it was a sleek black that he had picked out himself, but his mother had stuck a big name label on it because she knew her son. that wonderful son, who loses every goddamn thing he owns. so the sleek, black portable reading light had a large yellow sticker on it in the shape of a sunshine.  
when his mother picked out that style of label, he was confused as to why it had to be a sunshine. his mother knew that he liked black and dark things, even though the contents of his room said something completely different. his room was filled mostly big plushies and floral ribbons. he had always loved gardens and flowers. the idea of large gardens and beautiful growth was always a source of inspiration for his. despite that, his outward appearance was often dark and seemingly unapproachable.  
to the original question of why his mother bought sunshine stickers, she replied,  
“because you, jisung, are my sunshine. the light of my life.”  
as much as he never wanted to admit it, every time he saw the sticker, it made happiness bloom in his heart.  
with the light in hand, he shuffled back over to the window, and placed the light on top of his book so that he could once more jump onto the window ledge and place his feet out the window. in jisung’s opinion, the best nights to sit with his feet out his window were the nights when it rained. he would sit, read and hear the melodic pitter-patter of the rain hitting the roof shingles. it would sometimes splash onto his feet, and the feeling of the cool rain hitting his feet always made his feel calm and connected with the world. especially on nights like these, when his insomnia made his feel like the entire universe was trying to separate from him and the world he was surrounded by was no longer real. the rain made him feel grounded. made him feel real and alive. 

he leaned back, grasping the window frame to stabilize himself, as he reached out to grab his book and the light, so he could at least do something with this night. his poor sleeping habits meant that he did a lot of reading these days. it used to just be fanfictions, but he decided that it was time to start reading books with more substance. he did his best thinking at night, so he figured he should read some books that would could expand how he thought. tonight, he was reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. it had been recommended to him by his history teacher. his teacher was always recommending them books and movies that could help him and his peers find new perspectives. he was actually quite enjoying the book, but he found the metaphorical nature to be kind of difficult to follow. despite that, he decided to keep reading, and if he had to re-read the book then he would do so. besides, he still had a million more nights of no sleep to do so. jisung opened up to the last page he was reading and picked up where he left off. he continued reading and when he finally looked up to check the clock, he saw that it was now 2:45 AM, but he wasn’t any more tired than he was 45 minutes ago. as he traced his line of vision back to the page he was reading, he caught a glimpse of something he hadn’t seen before. someone walking down his street. at this time in the morning?  
it looked like they were in a hoodie and a denim jacket. from where jisung was sitting, he could see what looked like a boy about his age walking aimlessly down the sidewalk in a grey hooded sweatshirt, a denim jacket, and some black pants. as he watched the boy kick rocks along the path, he also saw something glowing a fiery orange near the figure’s face. from what he could tell, he thought that it was a cigarette. “great,” he thought, “another kid who thinks he’s cool for smoking. it’s not 'indie' pal, it’s just blackening your lungs.” he had never particularly liked people who smoked because the smell made him nauseous. however, he was mesmerized by the idea of the smoke. how could something have such an aggressive presence as it escapes the smoker lips, with its opaque grey color and ability to fill up a large space so quickly, but yet be so ephemeral. the minute the smoke begins to fill an area, it dissipates in the blink of an eye. he felt the same way about words. words had the ability to fill up a space with pride, sadness, happiness, or anything in between, but it was like the moment the words had been spoken, they just disappeared into the air.  
when jisung finally came out of his thoughts, he looked out into the street to see that the boy he had seen walking had since stopped in his tracks and was looking up towards his window on the opposite side of the street. he looked at him with an intrigued look, and almost as if he had heard his thoughts, put out his cigarette seconds after their eyes connected. he did nothing more after that, and simply continued walking on. “what a weird interaction,” he thought. Since it was now 3:30 AM, jisung had decided to get back in bed and try and get whatever sleep he could, but he knew that he wouldn’t actually sleep. he would just go back to staring at the ceiling, but dad got up at 4 AM to get prepared for work, and he would be concerned if he wasn’t at least in bed. he jumped out of the window, and wiped the rainwater off his feet with the towel he kept under the window, specifically for nights like this. he, then, picked the towel up, dried off the excess water from the window ledge, and discarded the towel somewhere across his room. as he slid back into the now cool sheets, he had one thing on his mind that would make sure he wouldn’t sleep; who was that boy?

when the early morning finally rolled around, jisung was not prepared to start his day. he had gotten a sum total of 2 and a half hours of sleep last night (or more this morning) and now he had to attend a full day of school. even though institutionalized learning was not his favorite, he did not hate going to school. he had a wonderful group of friends and a few classes that he did, in fact, enjoy. it just that getting going in the morning was extremely hard when he didn’t actually sleep at all. when he finally pushes his body heavy with exhaustion out of the bed, he has only 20 minutes to get ready. he hastily washes his face, brushes his hair, and throws on jeans, a black sweater and his boots. he grabs a light jacket and his cup of tea, as he makes his way out the door. with the crisp air hitting his face more forcefully than he wanted at 7:30 AM, he shivers as he walks to school. 

right as he was about to reach the door to enter the school, someone had reached out ahead of him and pulled the door open. he recognized the outfit of the figure as that of the boy he had seen the night before. he had his headphones on, but luckily noticed jisung’s presence, and held the door open for an extra second so he could move inside the building as well. he gave his thanks, and he replied with nothing but a curt nod and a half smile. and with that, he quickly moved away from him and towards the main office. “makes sense,” jisung thought. he hadn’t ever seen him before, so he must be a new student. he had to stop off at the art studio before moving to his first class of the day. he had been working on an acrylic cityscape painting. the canvas was nearly 2 ½ feet long, so the details took a painstaking amount of time. upon exiting the room, he noticed his principal guiding the mystery boy through the art hallway on a school tour. being the kind student he was, he bid a good morning to them both, and then kept moving onward. what he failed to notice as he briskly moved to his math class was the way the mystery boy followed him with his eyes as he walked away. he was curious about him.  
“who was that guy?” he asked his new principal.  
“that is jisung han. Why do you ask mr. bang?”  
“i think that he may be my new neighbor, but i hadn’t had the opportunity to introduce myself.”  
“well, he is one of the finest students in this institution, especially in the arts. It may behoove you to get to know him.”  
from then on, he at least had a name. jisung. hopefully, he would get to see more of him.  
and his wish was granted, as he and jisung were in the same art class. this was also very intriguing to jisung. when he set foot into the art room, his second to last class of the day and his favorite, he sat where he always does and began to get out his supplies to continue working on his painting. however, he was completely taken aback when he walked out of the supply closet to see a certain mystery boy sitting right in front of him. he was so surprised in fact that he dropped an entire bottle of indigo paint onto the smooth, tile floor. the thud of the bottle did not even register in his mind until he saw the mystery boy jump in his seat and turn around. at that point, he snapped back into reality and bent down to pick up the now dented bottle of paint. as he returned to his standing position, he happened to catch the gaze of the mystery boy. he felt guilty as he had scared him, so he made sure to apologize for the inconvenience.  
‘i’m so sorry. i didn’t mean to scare you!”  
“no worries. i’m chan, by the way.”  
“jisung.”

on that note, he walked back to his seat in order to continue working on his project. it was hard to focus on the artwork in front of him, when he was fairly certain he just witnesses art in real life. being that close to mystery boy, apparently named chan, he had gotten to notice how beautiful he was. his face was very symmetrical, which in the art world, is one of the most beautiful features a person can have. his jaw was defined, but still soft at the edges, giving him a warmer appearance. as he smiled softly when jisung introduced himself, he took note of the deep dimple that appeared on the right side of his face. it was like a beautiful crater in the moon. though, jisung thought his most beautiful feature was his eyes. they were a soft grey color with speckles of dark green throughout. it reminded him of the mossy stream behind his house. he had always enjoyed that stream. in the summer, the soft noise of lightly flowing water would provide the perfect background noise for reading when there was no rain. he must not have been the only person to notice him and his beauty though, because 4 girls at the other end of the studio had been looking at him and giggling for almost 10 minutes now. he couldn’t blame them though. in a school like this, cute boys and new people are always the talk of the school because not a lot really happens in daebury. so when a cute, new boy comes to daebury regional high school, he’s bound to get a lot of attention.


	2. blossom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung is preparing for another day in art club, when none other than chan bang comes through the door looking to join the club.  
> in other words, chan gets excited about art and everyone loves jeongin.
> 
>  

today was a regular tuesday afternoon for jisung. on tuesdays, he stayed after-school to help art club. art club was mostly comprised of underclassmen who were friends with jisung, and wanted a place to work on their art in an encouraging environment. since they lived in a wealthier area, many of the students in art club had parents who were CEOs, high ranking software developers, lawyers, and doctors. with this kind of pressure to succeed professionally within their community, many of these kids were expected to follow in their parents footsteps and join the traditional business world after college. jisung’s club was a place for these students to express their real dreams. deep down many of them wanted to be designers, art teachers, and even museum curators, but they couldn’t express these wishes at home, so they came to art club. jisung, despite being club leader, was in a far different situation. he had grown up in a creative and accepting household. his mother was an interior designer in the city. his father was an architect, and his grandmother --who lived with them-- was a retired professor of art history and now spends his days teaching pottery classes in town. this may be why jisung was such a great club leader. he was familiar with so many types of art, but had learned how to be a nurturing leader like his grandmother, so he knew exactly how to help his peers express themselves through art.  
but today’s art club meeting took an interesting turn, when none other than chan bang walked through the door about 5 minutes before the meeting was actually set to start.  
“oh, OH. hi, chan! wh-what are you doing here?”  
“i was talking with mr. park today after class about how i wish i had more time in class to work, so he suggested that i come and check out art club after school. he didn’t tell me that you were in art club though.  
“oh, yeah. i am actually the leader of art club. the meeting starts in about 5 minutes, so people will file in shortly. there are only about 7 of us, so it will be easy to introduce you to everyone. today, we are looking at the work of osamu tezuka, and then we will work freely on whatever project you want for the last hour of club.”  
“NO WAY! i love osamu tezuka’s work. his books are so dynamic and i love the art. i always found it so interesting how he was able to work in so many different types of manga, and create stories that were so different from one another. like if you look at the dark story lines and more minimal art style of Ayako juxtaposed to the bright and exciting stories told through Astro Boy, it’s just so fascinating.”  
jisung was more fascinated by chan. one of his favorite parts of getting to know people was when you found out about their passions. when anyone opened up about the things that they are passionate about or intrigued by, it was like the rest of the world around them fell away and they could only focus on that one thing. jisung loved to see how people’s eyes would brighten up and the way they speak speeds up because they were so excited to talk about that one thing and it seemed like they would never have enough time to express every one of their thoughts. when jisung mentioned tezuka, he saw that look. the look of pure joy and fascination. “this must be his thing,” jisung silently decided.  
chan must have noticed how jisung was looking at him because he immediately retreated to a shy state and he noticed a light blush cross his cheeks.  
“s-sorry. i got too excited.”  
jisung realized how he must have looked.  
“no, NO. don’t be sorry. i just find it interesting to listen to people talk about what they are passionate about. i feel like when we listen to people talk passionately about something we, personally, may not feel passionate about we can gain new perspectives, and see how that thing brings joy to others, if that makes sense?” jisung rambled.  
“that makes total sense. i am a big tezuka fan. i am a big fan of graphic novels, in general. it is my dream to become a graphic novelist, but with big business bankers like my parents, i doubt that i’ll be able to follow that path,” replied chan with somewhat of a sad smile distorting his features.  
jisung took note that he couldn’t see chan’s pretty dimple when he smiles like that.  
“well you have come to the perfect place then. many of the kids here are much like you. they have parents in important professional roles who expect their children to follow in their footsteps, but they have bigger, artistic dreams,” jisung explains.

the rest of the club went by without a hitch. 

jisung introduced chan to his fellow club members, and his best friend, changbin.  
changbin was about a year older than jisung, but he was held back because his parents thought it was what was best for him. because of that, jisung and changbin were able to meet in elementary school. jisung and changbin became friends in first grade, and stayed friends ever since. when he came to daebury elementary school, changbin had looked scary to the other kids at first, but jisung was fascinated by him. when jisung introduced himself changbin seemed very nervous and standoffish. (jisung would later discover that it was because his changbin’s parents hadn’t let him bring his snorlax plushie, gyu, to school. without his best friend, gyu, by his side, he didn’t know what to do.) changbin was always grateful to jisung for talking to him that day and together they have taken on the world, just the two of them. when they entered their freshman year, changbin joined art club with him, even though he is not artistic like jisung. changbin wants to be an author. so when the club meets, changbin is either writing, or he will read his stories to the club as a source of entertainment and inspiration.  
jisung also introduced chan to the other members of art club.  
minho, an aspiring painter. felix, a future museum curator. seungmin, an extremely impressive landscape photographer. hyunjin, who is likely to be michelangelo, and the youngest member of their club, jeongin. jeongin was like jisung’s little brother, and he loved him to pieces. jeongin wanted to go into game design, but when his parents caught wind of those aspirations, they told him that his future in anesthesiology had already been set for him. he, like the other, was expected to follow his parents.  
by the end of the club meeting, it appeared that chan had also become fond of jeongin. they enjoyed the same games, and had very similar artistic inspirations. chan seemed to have adopted jeongin as his own little brother, too, which brought back the blossoming feeling of happiness to jisung’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this chapter is a little bit short, but i am going to post 2 updates today!


	3. hyacinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung finishes up cleaning the art room after the club, and as he get ready to head home, someone asks if he would like some company.

after jisung said goodbye to everyone and thanked them for their hard work during the club meeting, he packed up his stuff and cleaned the room. jisung had always enjoyed this time after club especially in the spring. as he washed the paint off the tables, and put away the remaining supplies, the setting sun would stream in through the window and warm up the whole room. while he cleaned, he liked to put on the sunrise album by day6 (which seungmin had gotten him hooked on) because it had great songs for days like this. the days when his heart was awakened with happiness, and his skin felt the warm rays of the sun beaming down. these were the days where he felt like dancing around the room. these were the days where he felt like taking the long route home just so, he could stay in the sunlight a little bit longer. when the room was clean to his liking, he would grab his backpack and make his way out of the building. today, when he stepped out of the building, he saw another new thing. he saw chan sitting under the big oak tree just outside the front doors. he wanted to make sure he was going to get home ok, so he approached him.   
“hey chan. do you have a ride home, or do you need someone to give you a ride?”  
“actually, i live pretty close to here. i was waiting to see if you, um, wanted to walk home together,” chan replied, getting quieter with every word making the (together) nearly inaudible.  
“sure, i’d like that,” jisung responded with a soft smile.  
chan perked up from where he was looking at the ground with a bright smile that would put even the sun to shame. jisung saw that his dimple was very prominent when he smiled this time. he liked that a lot.

the walk home was quite mundane. jisung made sure to take the long route, so that he could see the hyacinths starting to bloom again on 19th street, but also so he could keep talking to chan. he wouldn’t tell him that part, though.   
they talked about music, art, and their families. jisung learned that chan also listens to day6. he said that his older brother, woojin, who is studying in seoul was the one who got him into their music. chan said he loves to find new music because he is kind of shy-- so he constantly has his earbuds in, and listening to the same music over and over can get boring.   
chan learned that jisung has listened to the entirety of day6’s discography more times than he can count, but has never gotten sick of it. jisung also told him that he wants to work as a freelance graphic designer. he explained that he thinks one of the most interesting forms of art is album covers, and that he’d love to design album covers among other things.  
when chan and jisung finally reached his house, he didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, but he knew he had to. he thanked chan for walking his home, and quickly moved in the front door of his house. it appears he didn’t move fast enough because his mother was home and very curious about who her son had walked home with.  
“now who was that handsome young man who walked home with you today, jisung?” questioned his mother.  
jisung hadn’t seen his mother standing there, so the sound of her voice abruptly breaking the silence looming in the house scared the daylights out of jisung.  
“mOM! it’s just a boy from school. he and his family just moved in down the street and he joined art club, and then offered to walk me home afterwards.”  
“so what is that boy’s name?” inquired mrs. han.  
“his name is Chan Bang.” jisung replied curtly.   
“oh, bang? I just met his mother, then. i was out in the garden and his mother was walking down the street, so i said hello. she said that they had just moved in about a week ago, and that she had a son about your age. it must be chan then,” said jisung’s mother, then adding, “the bangs are also coming over for dinner on friday night.”  
“oh thats ni- WHAT?” jisung questioned, nearly yelling.  
“yes, i said that our families should get to know one another, but it seems like the two of you have already gotten to know each other,” jisung’s mother replied with a wink.  
“I’LL BE UPSTAIRS!” jisung yelled as he practically sprinted to his room.

chan had had a very similar reaction when he heard the news of friday. as he entered the house, chan’s mother, yuna, was also home.   
“you’re home early, mom,” chan expressed as he walked in the door.  
“yes, dear, I got off work early today. since i had so much time until you got home, i decided to go on a walk this afternoon when i came home from work. this weather was just too beautiful to not go outside and soak in the sunshine. it turned out to be a great day for a walk because i met one of our new neighbors, and they invited you, your father, and myself to dinner at their home on friday,” mrs. bang explained to her youngest son.  
“oh that’s nice. who is the neighbor?” asked Chan.  
“her name was darcy han. apparently, she is an interior designer in the city and her office is just up the street from where your father works…” mrs. bang rambled on and on, but as she told her story, she failed to notice her son choke on his water and look at her dumbfounded. when he finally turned to look to chan, he was confused. “what’s wrong dear?”  
“you said… han??” questioned chan with a slight tremor in his voice.  
“yes. why?”   
“oh, uh, no reason,” chan replied, immediately turning his eyes to the ground.  
“i believe darcy said that she has a son about your age. oh what did she say his name was….. jaebeom? jisoo? jin? ji-.....” mrs. bang sat trying to rack her brain of that name when chan piped up,  
“jisung. his name is jisung.”  
“ah yes, jisung. i guess you two have met already then.” chan’s mother replied with a small, but knowing smirk on her face.  
“yeah, we met. i’m gonna go to my room! love you mom!” chan yelled behind him as he moved briskly to his bedroom.   
chan and jisung breathed a collective sigh of relief once in the safety of their respective bedrooms. this was going to be quite the new and interesting experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for already 200 hits! i never expected that so many people would like this story. i promise to keep posting if you guys keep reading! thank you so much!


	4. pink roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> friday night has finally come and the bangs are off to have dinner at the hans. jisung is nervous, but not nearly as nervous as chan is. the scent of rosemary and pink roses is in the air tonight, what will happen?

friday had finally rolled around, and chan and jisung were both wracked with nerves. if only they knew how the other felt. when jisung arrived home that afternoon, he sprinted straight for his room, and gave wis a tight hug. as jisung sat with his face buried in the fur of his cat, his mind was racing with a million thoughts. what if the bangs don’t like him? what if his parents tell that embarrassing story about how when he was a little kid and he used to pretend that he was a superhero and his sidekick was a spoon? what should he wear to dinner? how does one make a good first impression? he realized that he just needed to take a deep breath and make it through the night.  
chan did not have the same logical rationale. he was freaking out in his room until his mother called him down saying that it was time for them to go to the hans. he almost fell down the stairs because he was shaking with so many nerves. as he made his way downstairs, his mother took special note of his clean appearance.  
“i haven’t seen you wear that jacket since your internship last summer. wait, did you shower for this?” his mom inquired while chuckling lightly at him.  
“i just want to make a nice impression, mom,” chan said through his teeth, but without any conviction.  
then, chan’s father walked through the doorway and put his arm around his wife. chan would never admit it in front of them, but seeing how in love his parents were was really heartwarming. his dad always looked at his mother like she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and his mother never missed an opportunity to brag about how great her husband was. chan hoped to have a relationship like that one day.  
“oh, leave the poor kid alone, yuna. we should be happy that he has put in this much effort.” chan’s father snickered as they made their way out the front door of their home, and began the short walk to the hans.

when they arrived at the front door, chan’s father handed him a bouquet of roses.  
“give these to mrs. han or whoever answers the door, and thank them for inviting us to their home.” chan’s father, joon, instructed.  
“yes, dad.” replied, chan, begrudgingly.

the doorbell rang throughout the house, and jisung knew what that meant. however, jisung was slowly becoming excited for this dinner-- mostly because he could smell his grandmother and mother making his favorite pasta. jisung’s favorite herb had always been rosemary. it was the first plant his mother taught his about when he was old enough to be in the garden. jisung loved everything about it, the name, the smell, the taste. so, the fragrance of rosemary filling the house, made him think that this dinner may not be all that bad. when the doorbell sounded, jisung’s father, shijin, called out from the kitchen.  
“jisung, can you answer the door?”  
“of course!” jisung chirped back.  
both jisung and chan were taken aback when the door was opened. the shock spread across their faces in sync, making the bangs and jisung’s grandmother, who had made her way down the hallway, laugh quietly.  
“um, uh, um. these are for you. UM, well for you and your family. thank you for inviting us to your home,” chan said hurriedly as he pushed a bouquet of pink roses forward, while simultaneously bowing slightly, probably to hide the blush quickly spreading across his cheeks.  
“oh, oh. thank you.” jisung said as he accepted the flowers, a slight blush spreading across his face as well.  
little to chan’s knowledge, pink roses were one of jisung’s favorite flowers. they were so beautiful and delicate. he used to gather pink roses with his grandmother in the garden in summer. it remains as one of his fondest memories with his grandmother.  
jisung was ripped from his nostalgia when his grandmother placed her hands on his shoulders and whispered, but loudly enough for everyone to hear,  
“what a handsome young man, jisung. and kind as well!”  
“grandmA!” jisung whisper-yelled. if the blush on his cheeks hadn’t been visible before, it sure was now. and to make matter worse, when jisung’s grandmother said that, chan smiled. one of those really happy smiles where jisung could see his pretty dimples and the bright sparkle in his eyes. “oh dear, this was going to be a long evening,” thought jisung.  
despite the evening beginning quite awkwardly, dinner was quite nice. everyone loved mrs. han’s pasta, but who wouldn’t. during dinner, mrs. han did, in fact, tell the story about jisung pretending he was a superhero and the metal spoon was his sidekick. his mother even included that the spoon’s name was super spoon. jisung turned as red as the tomatoes in the pasta, but chan thought it was cute. he made a mental note to make a new comic out of jisung and super spoon as soon as he got home. as dinner came to an end, mr. han offered coffee to everyone.  
“yuna and joon, would you like coffee?” inquired shijin han.  
“that would be great,” replied mrs. bang.  
as conversation picked back up at the table, jisung’s grandmother leaned over to jisung, and whispered,  
“why don’t you take chan out to see the garden?”  
jisung nodded softly and quietly giggled with his grandmother.  
“um, chan, would you like to go outside and see our garden?” asked jisung.  
“i’d love that.” chan said, with less confidence than he had wanted to but, oh well.  
the two grabbed their jackets and made their way out the door, but not before jisung caught the wink his grandmother was throwing his way. the night was crisp, but not unbearably cold. the hans had a small greenhouse built in their garden, so that they could continue to grow plants well into the colder months. as they walked out to the greenhouse, jisung had a question on his mind.  
“chan, that first night I saw you walking on the street, you were smoking, why do you smoke?” inquired jisung.  
“that was a bad habit. my brother and I used to smoke together when we were stressed about our parents. he left, but sometimes i still like to take a long walk and smoke when i’m stressed.” explained chan with a look of regret in his eyes.  
“you should probably give it up, you know. if you don’t want to die prematurely. when I’m stressed, i draw. usually flowers, but i found that concentrating on that one thing makes my stress just melt away.”  
“DIE PREMATURELY? that’s what you chose to say. nice work, jisung. you idiot!” jisung silently berated himself.  
almost as if chan could hear his beating himself up,  
“i’ll try that instead. thank you,” he replied with a soft smile, as they both stepped into the greenhouse.  
as chan and jisung made their way around, jisung explained what each plant was and he even told him what each plant represented symbolically.  
“and those pink roses from earlier are a symbol of grace and admiration. they make for a great offering of gratitude to others. that’s probably why your parents picked pink roses specifically,” jisung brightly explained to chan.  
chan finally understood what jisung was trying to explain to him in that first day of art club. he could tell that flowers and plants were what jisung was passionate about. he could see the sparkle in his eye when he started talking about the symbolism of roses, or the health benefits of basil. he thought that in this moment he looked beautiful and he never wanted the moment to end. chan knew then and there how he felt about Jisung, but no matter how he felt, he knew they were going to be great friends. 

after the bangs left, jisung helped his mother wash the dishes from dinner.  
“well yuna and joon are wonderful people, don’t you think?” asked mrs. han.  
“they are so successful, but so humble. i think that they are awesome,” replied jisung, to which mrs. han nodded enthusiastically.  
“and chan seems to really like you.” mrs. han added with a wink.  
“whAT?” yelped jisung.  
“whenever you were talking, or even when you weren’t talking, he was looking at you. that boy didn’t take his eyes off of you for all of dinner. i’m not a genius, but i think he really likes you.” mrs. han said, with a slight teasing tone to his voice.  
“i’m gonna go to bed now, mom! i love you! thanks for dinner!” jisung said as he ran upstairs to his room. 

“that was quite an interesting evening, wisteria. but, do you think mom was right? do you think chan actually likes me? no, no, i’m being ridiculous. we are just good friends. friends…” jisung said to no one in particular, mostly just thinking aloud.

(yes, i did name jisung’s dad after song joongki's character from descendants of the sun, no regrets.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today was a crap day for me but, i really like this chapter! i have one chapter to go before i'm out of material that i have pre-written, so its gonna get interesting pretty soon. this chapter is SUPER soft, so i hope you prepared accordingly. i think this may get a little slow-burn for the next few chapters, but it will be worth it! also, if you have any ideas for other AUs you'd want to see in the future, feel free to leave them in a comment! (also i'm still trying to work out a posting schedule, so look forward to that too!)
> 
> -soft_changbin


	5. moonflower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its another night where chan and jisung can't sleep. jisung follows his normal routine, open the window and read. that changes, however, when chan shows up outside, in the middle of the night, with a present.
> 
> (a bit of a shorter chapter, but a longer one is coming tomorrow!)

on the weekends, jisung worries less about his lack of sleep because he doesn’t have to worry about getting to school the following morning. so, it was now 2:45 AM, and he followed his regular routine. he stepped up onto the window ledge with his book and light. he swung his feet out the window and let them dangle in the cool march air. he also put his headphones on, and was listening to a 4 AM playlist he found on youtube to fill up the silence of the dark night. he sat reading until he saw a figure approaching his house in the darkness. It was chan with what looked like a poster in his hand.  
“chan, its 3 AM what are you doing up?” jisung whisper-yelled down to him, worried as to why he was up so late.  
“can you come down here for a minute?” he asked back, hopefully.  
“it’s 3 AM, chan. what is it? what do you want?” he responded back, a little irritated.  
“just come down, pleaseee,” begged chan.  
jisung swung his legs back into the window. he softly placed his book back on top of the shelf. he quickly put on the sweatshirt he had hung on the door handle into his room, and he pulled on the sneakers he had sitting next to the door. jisung crept down the stairs as stealthily as possible, trying not to wake his parents. the lock to the side door clicked to unlocked, and he slipped outside. he ran around to the front of his house to see chan standing right where he last saw him, staring wistfully at the night sky and waiting patiently for jisung to come outside.  
“alright, chan. what is it?” questioned jisung.  
chan had apparently not seen his coming and jumped at the sound of his voice, nearly dropping what he was holding.  
“well, when i got home from dinner, my parents and i had an argument about me wanting to take art classes on the weekends. they seemed unwilling to hear me out and that was a bit frustrating. before we went to bed, they apologized for not listening, but i don’t think that they will let me sign up. Since i was fed up and stressed out, i was going to take a smoke, but then i remembered what you had told me to do, so i have been awake, drawing, for the last 3 hours. So, um, this is for you,” is what he said as he held out the rolled up poster towards jisung.   
jisung took it from his hands, but he never could have guessed what was going to be inside when he opened it. it was him as a superhero, with his sidekick, super spoon. the suit he drew for the superhero, for jisung, was covered in flowers and it had a cool kick-ass cape. he looked like a real comic book superhero. just looking at the picture reminded him of what he felt like when he was a kid. how he felt whenever he would “fight evil” with super spoon. he felt like he was on top of the world. before he knew it, he was crying.  
“oh no! jisung, what’s wrong? did I do something wrong?” chan asked, worry evident in the way his voice shook.  
“not at all. this just reminds me of how i felt as a kid. i always felt like i was unstoppable and could fight all the evil. super spoon and i were going to save the world. all those same happy feelings just flooded back all the sudden, and i think it just overwhelmed me,” jisung explains in between sniffles.  
“i love it. thank you so much, chan.”  
“oh, uh-- oh no problem. it kept me from dying prematurely,” chan added with a sly wink to cover his slightly embarrassing stutter.  
just as chan was turning to leave, something overcame jisung. he reached out and through his arms around his neck. he knew that saying thank you wasn’t enough for chan to understand his gratitude. as he stood on his tiptoes, he pulled him in a tight hug in an effort to truly show how he felt. chan was a bit taken aback at first. even stumbling back, as his weight had suddenly changed. when he realized what was happening, he quickly responded. he snaked his hands around his waist and pulled him in even tighter. he could feel jisung burying his face into the side of his neck, and tightening his arms around him.   
jisung thought that he smelled very clean and like home.   
as chan dipped his head down to rest his head on jisung’s shoulder, he realized that he smells just like roses and home.   
they both wanted this moment, with their bodies connected, to last forever. when they finally pulled apart, jisung made sure to thank chan one last time for the beautiful drawing. with his back turned and ready to walk away, he turned back and lightly pressed his lips to chan’s cheek. he then quickly skittered back into the house.   
befuddled by what just happened, chan stood outside his house for a couple of minutes. when he came to the realization that the jisung han had just kissed him on the cheek, he may have done a little happy dance and then ran all the way home.   
once he was back in the safety of his room, he realized what he had done. he had kissed chan. on the cheek, but kissed him nonetheless. between him making all his childhood dreams come true and just being chan, he knew, then, how he felt about chan. with his heart still beating a mile a minute, he realized that he was in deep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much! i can't believe how many hits and kudos this story has been getting already! i can't express how happy i am that people are liking this story. after this week ends, i think that i am going to try and update this story on wednesdays and fridays, but my spring break is coming up, so i intend to do quite a bit of writing! anyways, thank you again!
> 
> \- soft_changbin

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! this is my first ever AU or fanfiction is general. i am very nervous to post this, but i love chan and jisung (especially after seeing that first win encore stage :')).


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